Posts Tagged ‘bonhams’

Bonham’s in London are holding a specialist South African auction over two days later this month with a wide and interesting selection of works from the great and the good (and indeed predominantly deceased) of the South African art world.

With around 300 lots in all there is quite a mixture of styles and, if the estimates are anything to go by (though some of them seem to be chosen very oddly!), prices.

The first day concerns itself mainly with earlier works but has some interesting items from George Boys and Errol Boyley On Day 2 there are some very fine Pembas on offer and also some quite appealing works from lesser known artists. There are a number of pieces from Francois Krige including the Rousseau-esque "Krisjan Sleeping" and a selection of his landscapes. The more contemporary items on offer include some distinctive works from Norman Catherine (with fairly modest estimates attached to them) and some acid house Mary-Ann Orrs. There’s an estimate of around $8,000 on a signed Nelson Mandela lithograph depicting Table Mountain from his cell window on Robben Island – it may not be the most accomplished work of art but it clearly has a powerful message. Dylan Lewis has some fine bronzes in the sale which may draw some attention.

It’s encouraging to see this event which appears to be attracting considerable interest and it will be interesting to see quite how the hammer falls on the day. By the way, should we be surprised that there’s not a Petrie to be seen anywhere in the listings!

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It isn’t intended to be irreverent but the Bonham’s event does bring to mind the Monty Python song "The Decomposing Composers" – there’s less of them every year. Every one of the following artists is, we are delighted to confirm, still above ground and producing some of their best works to date: